"We trust him," said Parker, 73, of Comstock Park, who worked for his campaign in 2000 and still judges him the best in the GOP field because of character and foreign policy experience.

"I think the next president isn't going to have time for on-the-job training."

McCain arrived at Gerald R. Ford International Airport fresh from his win over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, a remarkable comeback for a candidate who was all but declared dead last summer.

He faces a key showdown against Romney -- who has yet to win a primary -- and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who scrambled the GOP field by beating Romney in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is not expected to compete seriously in Michigan.

A loss by either McCain or Romney, in particular, could cripple their chances for the nomination. McCain could quickly run short of funds and Romney might have trouble selling himself after losing in Iowa, New Hampshire and then Michigan.

Romney campaigned Wednesday in East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids and is committed to speak at Friday's Ottawa County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. Huckabee is expected to speak Saturday at a Grand Rapids rally.

McCain told the boisterous crowd gathered at the Northern Air terminal he is ready to seize control of a field that is still looking for a winner.

He followed his appearance here with a rally in Oakland County, before heading for a campaign appearance in South Carolina in advance of its Jan. 19 primary.

"We will win Michigan. We will win South Carolina, and I will be the next president of the United States," he said.

With numerous members of the national media tracking his remarks, McCain gave a 20-minute stump speech that combined sober warnings about a dangerous world with promises to help Michigan with its economic troubles.

He called "radical Islamic extremism" the great threat of our time, saying that its proponents "may be the greatest of force of evil that this nation has ever faced. And they are going to be a threat to you and my generation and it will be a long war."

He noted that he was the first candidate to openly criticize the Iraq war polices of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and to advocate troop "surge" strategy now in place.

He also pledged to complete one task that President Bush never finished.

"I will get Osama Bin Laden if I have to follow him to the gates of hell," he said.

McCain acknowledged the economic woes that have afflicted Michigan, saying that some of the lost jobs "are not coming back."

Indeed, when McCain won Michigan eight years ago, the state was at its high-water mark in terms of employment. Since then, Michigan has shed more than 400,000 jobs. It has lost a third of its manufacturing jobs, a rate higher than any other state, and nearly half of its automotive jobs.

But he said displaced workers must be given the chance to learn new jobs, through a jobs training program designed by the nation's community colleges.

"We cannot leave these great Americans behind," he said.

As he waited for McCain to take the stage, Grand Rapids resident Mark Donker said he likes McCain's pragmatic approach to solving problems. Donker was disillusioned by the more rigid ideological approach he saw in the Bush administration.

"I lost my interest in the Republican Party the last eight years. I just think John is probably the most honest guy I see running. He isn't just an ideologue."

But not everyone at the rally with a McCain placard was ready to commit.

Caledonia resident Jeanette Deblaay said she leans toward Huckabee, then Romney but wanted to give McCain a chance for her vote.

"I more interested in the moral aspects of the candidates. I like Huckabee's moral stance," she said.